Imris ‘methodically building momentum’

Imris Inc., a maker of image-guided surgery machines, has been gaining steam in the past couple of years as its high-tech devices are increasingly being adopted by hospitals around the world.

Just last month, the University of Utah Hospital announced it would buy one of the company’s IMRISNV machines, which allows surgeons to actively monitor a stroke patient using MR imaging and x-ray angiography while performing surgery. The purchase is a high profile one, considering the hospital has one of the nation’s best stroke centres.

“We believe IMRIS has only scratched the surface of its growth potential, noting the nascent adoption of its proprietary image-guided surgery solutions, its multi-billion opportunity, and the robust product pipeline,” Jason Mills, analyst with Canaccord Genuity wrote in a note.

Winnipeg-based IMRIS launched its listing on the Nasdaq exchange last November, and is currently trading at US$7.80 as of last close on Friday. Mr. Mills rates the company a buy, and has a 12-month price target of US$10.50.

He notes that the company’s research pipeline — which includes development of robotics in surgery, as well as new radiotherapy devices, augments the strong line of IMRIS’ existing offerings. Mr. Mills also adds he expects two new product launches at an annual meeting of the American Associate of Neurogical Surgeons to be held in Denver next week.

Of course, given that the company is offering a very new type of technology — and is a fairly new company itself, having launched in 2005 — Mr. Mills expects booking trends to be bumpy.

But given the strong interest the company’s current product offerings have generated, bumpy booking trends won’t necessarily be an impediment to growth.

“We see revenue doubling from current levels within two years to over $150-million, at which point the company should be very profitable,” he said.

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